Tarzan 2015
by Longboard917
Summary: When Jane's Parents are kidnapped it becomes a race against time to find help. Too bad she can't speak the native language, has no idea where she is; and is stuck with a man in a loincloth as her only hope. But will this man be her savior, or her internal demise.
1. Chapter 1

Tarzan 2014

Chapter One

I hate traveling. I officially hate it. Well, I don't hate all travel but this has to be the worst form of it. To travel through the dense, damp, and above all, humid African jungle on foot for a whole month; drenched in my own sweat. Why couldn't we go via Jeep or any other all-terrain vehicle. This was not the way I wanted to spend my summer vacation let me tell you; but when your mother and father are two highly renowned Archaeologists who are in apparently in need of some 'Family time'; this happens no matter what you say.

My brunette hair was in a frizzy braided mess, and I was forced to wear my old baseball cap to hide the worst of it on the top of my head. Sweat beaded down my face from the humidity, and large pit stains were on clearly visible down the sides of my shirt. For some reason the jungle leaves kept slapping me in the face, if the jungle hated me I shared the same sentiments. We were already halfway through the dense jungle, and we still had three weeks left of the jungle hike, and I swore I was going to die from loss of blood from the blood-sucking insects drinking my veins dry.

My younger brother is off in boarding school for the next two months, and he thinks he's missing out on all the fun. Well what he is missing is something I would switch with him in a heartbeat. I don't care if I have to spend eternity in a textbook, I would still think it's better than being slowly eaten alive by misquotes.

"This is ridiculous," I swat at the bugs flying circles around my head, whilst trying to keep up with our group.

My parents giggle like children, "Now, Jane; I thought you liked the outdoors," my mother smiles.

"Back in Baltimore maybe; there I'm not being sucked dry by vampire flies," I swat at a mosquito, not paying attention to the tree stump by my foot; causing me to trip into the back of one of our hired guards.

The burly man glared daggers through my skull as I sheepishly back away from him. He is intimidating and far beyond scary. If you made a sudden movement around him, his rifle would be up your nose in the blink if an eye; and your pants wouldn't be drenched in sweat, but something else.

I didn't agree with my parents hiring the people they did; they were shady, and a little too cheap for the amount of money we brought with us. The guide was the only man that we hired who spoke English, and he was a piece of work all on his own.

He wasn't as burly or built like the pack man we hired, but he was far more brain than brawn. It seemed like he and my father had gotten along too well, they were always talking about the local legends of this part of the amazon. His ego was the worst part of him.

My mother would laugh at the man's corny jokes about jungle life. It seemed too weird, my mother couldn't stand my sarcasm any day of the week, but for some reason his textbook jokes were pure comedy gold to her. The main thing about that guy that really crept me out was the way he looked at me, it was so primal and disturbing. I was scared to fall asleep at night because in had that constant feeling of being watched. This whole vacation was so wrong in a number of ways I couldn't count all of them. Thank God I was the one who was in possession of the machete.

"Alright everybody, we have a ten minute break and the we start toward the cliff-tops," our guide turned around to us, letting his men find a make-shift couch they could sit on.

"Well, I'm off to use the ladies room for a tinkle, I'll be right back Janie," My mother dropped her backpack beside me. As my mother left, one of the hired men seemed to have the same idea, but for some reason he took his rifle with him.

"Seriously Mom, you don't need to tell me that," I pinched the bridge of my nose.

I sat under the dense shade of a low tree, relishing the coolness of the moss on my sweaty hands.

"How you holding up sport," my father hovered above me, a canteen in one hand and his other leaning on the tree.

"Slowly dying of loss of blood, how about you," I asked as a swatted at the mosquitoes sucking my blood; my father handed me the canteen of water.

"You know, you should hear the legend around here, the 'El Dorado of Africa' they call it. A lost city filled with gold by the tons, that and extensive knowledge of an ancient undiscovered civilization. Clayton says that for hundreds years men and women have ventured into the jungle and are never heard from again. He said that the locals have seemed a spirit protects the jungle from the ones who venture too close to it. Sound like anything up, your alley Jane?"

"Sounds like something he pulled out of a Stephen King novel," I glared at Clayton for a second before turning back to my father.

"Dad, I don't like these people, they scare me."

"Why? They seem fine to me," my father argued.

"You're kidding right? You don't think that they are a little too shady to you," I gestured to the men we hired, whom were gather together like a band if rats.

"They were the cheapest we could afford, and they are a loyal group, you should give them a chance," my father countered, though he seemed sheepish by the tone in his voice.

"Mr. Porter, would your daughter mind if I have a word with you," Clayton called my father, though his eyes were staring straight at me. My father began to walk over to him, leaving me to fend for myself.

I looked at my watch strapped to the inside of my wrist, we only had four minutes left of our break, and my mother still wasn't back yet. If she had to 'tinkle' then she would have been back by now. So where was she?

I grabbed my backpack and slid it over my shoulders. As careful as I could I backed into the jungle brush behind the log where I was sitting; so I wouldn't attract too much attention.

When the break site was out of view, I started searching for my mother's footprints; maybe those survival movies were helping out after all. Turning my baseball cap backwards, I finally spotted a footprint about my mother's size.

I began to follow the footprints closely, careful not to trip over anything and lose the tracks all together. With, my machete in hand I hacked the dense brush wide open, only to find two sets of footprints. The footprints of my mother were very different from the new ones, the new set were barefoot, and it seemed there was somewhat of a struggle and my mother started running in a different direction than she was before. That's when I heard a gunshot, and a scream; not just any random scream; it was my mother's scream.

I knew then my mother was in danger, and if I went back I could very well find my mother dead, but if I kept following the tracks, I could help my mother quickly and get her back. And I knew that Clayton would probably want more money if I asked him to help me, or even worse not help at all.

I kept a tight grip on my machete as I followed the tracks once more, picking up the pace knowing my mother was in trouble. As I followed her prints, more and more sets of footprints began to appear, so this was a group of people whom were chasing her.

As I kept my head down to the earth, something landed on my head; causing my to face-plant into the jungle floor. I rubbed the top of my head, only to have it graze over something scaly. Last time I checked; my baseball cap didn't have scales. I screamed, trying to get whatever was on my head off. I heard a snarl as I slapped the creature off of my cap. I pointed my machete at what was formerly on my head and now in the jungle floor, only to find a small, lanky blue chameleon.

It licked its eye with its slimy tongue, but it wasn't something that would kill me, I hope. I lowered my machete slowly, but I was still cautious of my surroundings, even more so when I heard a twig snap.

My machete was instantly pointing in the direction where I heard the sound. My hands we're clammy from nerves. I heard distant crunching of twigs getting louder and louder, and the chameleon was wrapped around my leg from fear. I gulped.

Next thing I know is that my face in in the dirt once more and I hear my mother's fearful voice. My mother had run into me from behind, why do I find that typical.

"Mom? What happened, who is chasing you," I asked frantically, not caring that I am covered in mud, or that the chameleon is now on perched on my shoulder like a canary.

"The men we hired, they set us up, no time to explain, just run," my mother whirled me around and pushed my back so I would start running.

I kept a grip on my mother's hand as we ran through the brush. I could hear the distant shouts of the men catching up to us, urging me to pick up the pace. My mother however was already exhausted from running for so long.

"Leave me, I am too old for this," my mother slowed to a stop, I could see the cliff tops just a few yards away.

"We are just by the cliff tops, you can make it," I pulled my mother to run but she was lagging in my grip, slowing us down substantially.

"Give me the knife, I will hold them off as long as I can, you go to the nearest village and get help," my mother snatched the machete from me.

"How in the hell am I going to do that?! We are in the middle of the jungle! C'mon, I have an idea that will fool them," I snatched the machete back and pulled her wrist to follow me once more.

We reached the edge of the cliff tops, where a whole denser and darker jungle lay below it. This jungle seemed as if it were hiding many dangerous things, but I knew that that part of the jungle was our ticket out, or down. The cliffs were equivalent to a vertical mountain side, and if I were to fall, let's just say I would look like a pancake.

I sheathed my machete and grabbed a sturdy vine and began to scale down the cliff side slowly. I looked back up at mother, whom was no the less skeptical.

"This is your idea? Are you sure this is even safe?"

"Do you want to be killed by hired goons or do you wanna live," I stated simply, at the moment I was thanking god that I was used to scaling down rock-walls back when I was in college.

My mother huffed and searched for a sturdy vine apart from my own, knowing that if any more weight were added, it would snap.

As my mother shifted so that the vine was in between her legs, a dark hand snatched her away from the edge.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" Mother shouted as she was soon crying out through some sort of cloth, meaning she was quickly gagged.

I kept silent, cursing that I wasn't able to do something. Though if I knew if I made any sound, they would find me if they didn't know I was on the cliff side already.

I slowly but surely started to reverse my scale and began upwards, keeping as quiet as I possibly could. The blue chameleon on my shoulder seemed to share the same sentiments of silence.

I was just in the shadow of the Cliffside, a few feet from the top when a voice, add me halt.

"Well it seems we have found the lovely college graduate men," I heard the voice of Clayton boast eagerly. My head shot upward to see the silhouettes Clayton and his men. Clayton seemed to be leaning on his rifle for support, while the man next to him had a machete in hand.

"Seems such a shame to leave you here, Ms. Porter, you are in an awful predicament," Clayton said smugly.

"No better than you kidnapping your clients," I retorted, receiving a growl from the man.

"It seemed that you were the only one in this family that had any common sense, too bad it will cost you," Clayton snatched the machete from the man next to him. He pressed it on the vine that I was holding. My eyes grew wide, knowing what he was going to do next.

"Sorry pretty girl, this is strictly business," Clayton sliced the vine off at the ledge, leaving no time to grab on to anything else for support.

It was then I began to plummet to the jungle below me, screaming for my life as I did so.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It seemed as if time had slowed down at first, I could only feel the air making my braid flap wildly, almost to where it came undone. My limbs were flailing around, my hands were searching for something to grab so that I would not die from smashing into the earth. The chameleon was making some snarl-like scream as it clung to my shoulder.

I hit the canopy hard, the back of my head was getting slapped by numerous branches, and leaves were making themselves an addition to my braid. Whatever branch I would try to grab, I would either miss, or the branch would snap. It was only when my backpack hit a large branch I slowed my rate of descent.

The impact made it hard to breathe; the wind had been knocked out of me. I took the opportunity to try and grab the branch, and thankfully I did. My grip was tight as I could possibly make it as I dangled over the dense lower jungle.

I tried my best to reach the branch with my other hand, but it was to no avail. I found that my clammy hands were causing my grip to loosen, and I soon began to plummeting feet first.

I soon was able to time where I could grab a branch, and my clammy hands would let me drop until I grabbed another branch. I repeated this method until I hit the jungle floor.

"Well at least we are alive, right?" I looked at the blue chameleon; whom was still frozen in shock from the fall. I heaved a sigh and let my butt hit the earth.

I took my back pack off, searching for a compass or GPS if I was the one who carried one. All I found was a few yards of rope; two empty canteens of water; flint; and some extra clothing, and the small radio. I was thankful that my beloved sketchbook and camera was still in one piece. No navigation device at all, isn't that just dandy.

"Typical," I said aloud.

I placed the compact radio into my pocket and slipped the backpack to where it previously was and began to walk in a random direction, hoping I could find a water source soon.

* * *

It was clear that this part of the jungle was far darker than to where I was previously. Everything seemed as if it were alive and trying to eat me. Animals would send out their calls and it seemed as if they were sending out a horrid war cry, I would cringe almost every time I heard something call out.

I will definitely admit that this was most likely something out of the pages of Jurassic Park, minus the whole Dinosaur-theme-park-gone-wrong part.

I unceremoniously maneuvered through the dense brush, at this point I didn't care that Mosquitos were sucking my veins dry or that my hair was disheveled from my fall. I undid my frizzy braid and shook the leaves out of my now frizzed and curly hair; I kept my baseball cap on backwards so that I could see everything in front of me.

Before I knew it, the sun was no longer in the sky and the jungle was getting darker and darker by the second. I needed a place to camp, fast. By the sounds of the distant thunder, a harsh rainstorm was on its way.

Luckily; I spotted a cave just as the first crack of thunder sounded. It was small, but enough for me to make a shelter out of. I gathered a bunch if small branches and leaves using some of them to make a small fire, and the remaining for a leaf bed. Using the flint and a flat rock I found in the cave; I quickly made a fire and tinkered with it to where it was substantial enough to last for majority of the night.

I used my backpack as a pillow and my dark green long skirt as a blanket for me and my new pet chameleon; Blu. I made sure that I was lying to where I could see the entrance of the cave as well as the fire. As the storm surged on through the night, I found myself lulled to sleep by the dancing flames of the fire and the pitter-patter beat of the rain.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of an elephant's trumpet. It was so loud it shook the cave I slept in. My head and upper body jolted upward, yelping as I regained a sitting position. The fire was no longer ablaze, and the rain had subsided all together. Beyond the cave entrance was a lone elephant, accompanied by a small band of gorillas. Blu, was strapped against my arm, still asleep. I looked back at the small gorilla group as they seemed to be searching for something, and have yet to notice me. They quickly moved on from the cave, and I decided to follow them; quickly packing up my things into my backpack and setting out to follow their tracks.

They stuck together, using the elephant as a path maker, seeing that there were many broken leaves and branches. I could faintly hear the group of gorillas playing around, as was the elephant; what I was most thankful of hearing was the sound of splashing water.

I kept cover within the bushes, careful not to scare off the gorillas so that I could get some pictures. I kept my eye in the lens, framing up so that the entire group was in view. I discreetly snapped three photos and put the camera back in my backpack, switching it out for the two canteens of water. I hung my backpack up on a tree limb behind me so that I could maneuver a little easier. Strapping the canteen straps to my shoulder and began to crawl closer to the edge of the pool. Blu climbed to one of the canteen straps, and blended in with my beige tank top when he was settled.

I reached the edge of the clearing and the bank of the pool. Removing one of the canteen straps I uncapped it and stuck it under the glass layer of water. Bubbles instantly began to surface as the canteen filled with water. I relished the coolness of the water on my hand under the water.

Once that canteen was filled, I closed the top and unstrapped the other canteen from my shoulder, making sure that Blu was not clinging to the strap and to my shirt. I once again dipped the canteen into the water, letting the bubbles indicate on how full the canteen was.

I looked at the slow rippling of the water, seeing the waving of my own reflection. Apart from that I looked up to the clearing to see a relatively scarce amount of wildlife apart from the small family of gorillas and the elephant whom were still at play. I smiled as I saw the group frolic about, thankfully not noticing me.

As I strapped the now full canteen back onto my shoulder I made movements to go back but I saw a flash of yellow across the reflection of the water. I looked across the pool to see a leopard slowly prowling toward the frolicking group of gorillas, who didn't notice the approaching danger.

I slowly backed away from the edge of the water until I hit a large fallen branch. It seemed big enough to be a baseball bat, and when I lifted it; it held a decent amount of weight. Having it over my shoulder, I made my way back to the edge of the water.

I turned my head to look at Blu, whom was back to his usual color on my free shoulder. I heaved a sigh before leaping into the water.

The initial splash made the gorillas scatter, as well as the elephant. I waded through the water so that they would stay away from the side where the Leopard was. Once the pool was empty, (with the exception of myself), I dropped the log into the water out of exhaustion.

Unknown to me, the leopard was still stalking prey, I was about to find out who that prey was.

The leopard roared as it leapt toward me and I instinctively dunked myself into the water, watching it splash a few feet away from where I once was standing. I grabbed a floating Blu and began swimming to shore, avoiding the flailing leopard as I reached the bank. I sprinted as fast as I could, grabbing my backpack as I ran away from the clearing. I glanced back only to find that the leopard was gaining on me. I unzipped my bag and threw my extra clothes at it, hoping that it would somehow distract it from me, no luck.

While in my panicked run, I tripped over a tree root and tumbled down a steep slope, having the many rocks and twigs scraped my flesh, causing me to bleed. I picked myself up and threw my book bag at the descending leopard, hearing my beloved camera crack against the cat's skull. But the leopard kept chasing me.

I ran into a vine filled part of the jungle, hoping that the leopard could get stuck as it would chase me. Though I soon found out that I was the one tangled in the heavy vines. I slipped on a mossy rock, losing my balance; and with the position I was in, I had no way of reaching my machete. I struggled against the vines as I heard the low growl of the leopard.

"Blu! Come back!" I shouted when I spotted Blu climbing a vine beside me. I watched as Blu left my line of view in the treetops, but was shortly redirected to the real and becoming danger of the leopard now in view.

I gulped visibly. If the fall did not kill me, this leopard most indefinitely would. I shut my eyes, knowing that this was the end of my life time.

* * *

The first thing I heard was a loud, (and long), shout. The next thing I know, the leopard is no longer trying to kill me, but was focused on something else. Or rather someone else. I peeked my eyes open and saw that the leopard was nowhere or be seen, until I looked up.

In the small clearing of the treetops, I spot a silhouette with some stick weapon. The figure skydives down from where he/she stood and pounced on the leopard who was climbing toward it. The two crashed down onto the moss covered earth in front of me. I barely got a glimpse of the figure, all I knew was that he had a spear, long shaggy hair, and some stubble. So I at least figured out that the figure was male. I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder, seeing that Blu had returned to my shoulder.

He climbed down to my wrist and began to munch on the vine wrapped around it. I smiled at the little chameleon, seeing that if he managed to snap it, I could get my machete and get myself out of this whole mess.

Blu had finally managed to eat his way through the vine, and I instantly grabbed my machete and began to hack my way out of the vines. I grabbed the chameleon, placing him back on my shoulder and started running. I stopped, when I heard the man yell in pain.

I groaned at myself, knowing that what I was about to do was beyond stupid.

I turned around and started sprinting toward the leopard that was ready to pounce on the man who helped me.

"Hey!" I called out lifting a large, fallen branch. When the leopard turned around; I swung the branch as hard as I cloud so that it would slam into the leopard's mid-section. I sent it flying a few feet back. I was surprised with myself on the mere force of my swing.

I looked over at the man who was pressed against a tree trunk. His hair was dark, shaggy, and almost as long as my own hair. He looked about my age. His skin was an olive tan, clearly from being out in the jungle for practically eternity. He wore only a loincloth, and I blushed when I saw how sculpted the man was. He was practically a marble statue, but still slim.

It just wasn't fair.

It was his eyes that struck me the most. They were a piercing blue-grey, and at the moment they were piercing straight through me.

I gulped as the man crouched and supported himself on his knuckles. I kept a tight grip on the branch as he moved closer and closer to me. He seemed confused, like he hasn't seen anything like me before. I slowly eased my grip on the branch as he became clear that he was not going to hurt me.

We were both snapped out of the trance we were put under when the Leopard growled at the both of us.

I froze and drop both my machete and branch. The next thing I know, the man has one arm around my waist and he is climbing up a vine, away from the leopard.

He swings for a few minutes, and I am at the point of puking because of my motion-sickness kicking in.

As I reached the point of trying to hold in my own puke, he abruptly halted; and he flopped me in a giant sized nest. I sat up only to see the man a mere inch from my nose, staring fiercely at me. I scooted to the very rim of the large nest, bringing my knees up to my chest out of defense.

He kept staring at me, to be honest if this was in a normal situation; I would be blushing, but since I am stranded in the middle of the jungle, I am scared out of my mind.

"Do you speak English?" I ask the man curiously, praying he knew what I was saying.

No response.

"Well that's helpful," I mutter under my breath.

I gestured to myself, "I'm Jane".

I tried again, as if I'm talking to a child, "Jane".

Nothing. I sigh running a hand through my knotted locks, thanking the jungle god that it was no longer an afro of frizzy-ness.

"Tar-zan," I heard a low voice. I turn my head to the man before me, seeing him gesture to himself as I did.

I remained silent, not knowing if he just spoke my name in another language, or some version of profanity.

"Tar-zan," he says again.

'Oh, that's his name! Don't I feel stupid,' I mentally slap myself.

"Tarzan," I raised a brow, still unsure. He smiles as he shifts on his haunches, grunting incoherently.

"Jane," I gestured to myself once more. He nods, gesturing to himself and speaking his name.

"Well now that we have gotten somewhere, can you tell me where I am," I said slowly.

He returned to his silent intense stare.

"Guess not," I leaned back on the leaf rimed nest.

I remembered the locals on the outskirts of the jungle would tell stories of a great white ape, and how many of the men would travel into the jungle to find fortune, yet none would ever return. Those who did never ventured close to it, or simply went flat out mad from their experiences. Thinking of how they started to hear of this when I had only arrived, I feared that I was sitting in the same nest as the white ape. If so, he was either not an ape, or he had just gotten a nice shave everywhere except the top of his head, which was more of a blackish color than it was white.

"Hello! Is anyone there!" the radio in my pocket was sounding off, causing me to come ashore from my waves of thought. I pulled it out of my pocket and listen to the voice of my father.

"This is Archimedes Q. Porter, me and my wife have been taken captive by criminals, and our daughter is dead! We need your help. Anyone answer for the love of god!"

I frantically tried to get the damaged contraption working again, tears brimming from my eyes whilst doing so.

"Hang on Dad, just hang on! I'm gonna get help, I promise!" I banged the device onto the almost solid leaves in an attempt to get it working again.

"No you get off me! No! Let go!" the radio went to nothing but static.

"NO! DAD!" I had finally gotten the device working on my end, but after I had tried all frequencies, I received the same static sound.

I slammed the radio onto the nest out of frustration. My tears streamed down the sides of my face freely. My chest heaved desperate breaths as I broke down. Who knows what Clayton's men were going to do to him, worst case scenario was that he would no longer live to see me get him or mom out of their predicament.

My head shot up when I heard the petulant grunting of the savage ape-man in front of me, whom had just witnessed my breakdown.

'Oh, _this_ is embarrassing," I thought to myself. I saw small trickles of blood traveling down his left arm, which he had rested upon his shoulder.

"Here let me help," I moved to grab his arm. With his inhumanly fast reflexes, he easily grabbed my wrist with an iron grip. His eyes glared at me with clear suspicion.

"I wanna help you," I tried to explain to the Man-Ape.

He said nothing in return. He did however; release his grip upon my wrist.

'That will definitely have bruises tomorrow,' I noted before taking a look at his arm.

I carefully lifted the injured appendage, cautious not to anger my 'savior'. He had three large gash marks, undoubtedly from the leopard attack earlier. The humidity had not allowed to stop bleeding, but instead, let it continue to bleed immensely.

I ripped a piece of my shirt into a thin and long piece of fabric. I carefully slid the middle of the fabric under the afflicted area and began to wrap it around his muscle. I gnawed on my bottom lip out of instinct, and his staring at me was not helping my concentration either. I tied the first knot down, and the man flinched, his other hand grabbing my wrist once again.

I looked at him, hoping that I would not have to use words to reassure the man that I would not hurt him. After a short stalemate, he slowly slid his hand down my arm before it fell off completely. The action, however sent goose bumps up my spine. I shook myself out of my stupor and finished tying the knot of his makeshift bandage.

"There that should do it," I rubbed the humid sweat off of my forehead.

The man gave a grunt and crawled over to one side of me, taking a strand of my hair and gazing at it with wonder.

Awkward.

I shifted my head away from him, and he merely looked at me quizzically. I blinked, utterly confused. I curled my feet up to my chest, as a form of shielding myself from this strange man who had decided that living in a nest was a good housing department. The man simply splayed out across most of the nest, a couple of small apes joining him and the almost instantly fell asleep.

'What have I gotten myself into?' I kept asking myself as thunder sounded of in the skies, a cue to let the downpour of rain pelt the jungle.

"Why couldn't we have just gone to a museum?"


End file.
